Operating handle assembly for latch or lock mechanism



1961 N. A. WELCH ET AL 3,014,748

INVENTORS N/CHOLHS Fl. WEL CH. Emu fl. VHHLSTROM.

i HTTORNEY.

3,014,748 OiERATING HANDLE ASSEMBLY FQR LA'IQH R LOCK MECHANESM NicholasA. Welch, West Hartford, and Carl A. Vahlstrom, New Britain, Conn,assignors to The American Hardware Corporation, New Britain, Conn, acorporation of Connecticut Filed Sept. 21, 1959, Ser. No. 841,252 6Claims. (Ci. 292356) This invention is embodied in an operating handleand escutcheon plate assembly for latch or lock mechanisms, and relatesparticularly to improved stop means for such an assembly for controllingthe direction and degree of rotation of the operating handle.

Heretofore, stop means have been provided in an escutcheon plate ormounting panel for a latch or lock handle to limit the direction ofrotation of the handle and the number of degrees through which itturned. However, in such prior devices the stop means were either anintegral part of the escutcheon plate or were permanently securedthereto so that the direction and degree of rotation of the handle wasfixed. As a result, such prior handles could not be used with bothright-hand and left-hand operated latch or lock mechanisms or withmechanisms which required rotation of their handles for differentamounts.

The primary object of this invention, therefore, is to provide stopmeans for an operating handle which permit said handle to be used withlatch or look mechanisms whose spindles rotate in opposite directionsand/or for a different number of degrees.

A further object of this invention is to provide stop means which may beinitially assembled to permit rotation of the handle in a right-hand ora left-hand direction.

A still further object of this invention is to provide stop means,including a removable stop member, which may be initially assembled topermit rotation of the handle in either direction for 90 or for 180.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be more clearlyunderstood from the following description and the accompanying drawingin which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in central vertical section, of anoperating handle and escutcheon plate assembly embodying our improvedstop means.

FIG. 2 is a sectional front view thereof taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional front view showing the stop member ofour improved stop means in a different position from that shown in FIG.2.

FIG. 4 is a similar view showing the stop member and the escutcheonplate in another position.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the stop member provided by our invention.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of said stop member.

In the drawing, we have illustrated our invention in an operating handleand escutcheon plate assembly of a type commonly provided for use withlatch or lock mechanisms, but it will be understood that our novel stopmeans may be readily used in conjunction with other types of latch orlock operating devices without departing from the spirit of the presentinvention.

As illustrated in the drawing, the numeral 5 denotes an escutcheon platewhich may be secured to the surface of a door or other closure by meansof screws inserted through holes 66 in said plate. The said escutcheonplate has a centrally located, round opening 7 extending therethroughwhich rotatably receives a hub 8 on a handle 9. The end of said hub isflared and engages a bearing washer 8a to prevent axial movement of thehandle relatively to the escutcheon plate 5.

In the disclosed embodiment of our invention, the handle 9 carries aconventional latch or lock operating spindle 1t:-

which is square in cross-section. Said spindle is non-rorotatablysecured to the hub 8 and extends axially therefrom, as shown in FIG. 1,so that it may be inserted into the complementary opening usuallyprovided in the rollback of a conventional latch or lock mechanism, notshown, to permit operation of said mechanism upon rotation of the handle9 in the proper direction and for the required number of degrees.

In accordance with the present invention, the escutcheon plate 5 isprovided with a narrow, arcuate recess 11 in its outer face which isdisposed concentrically of and partially surrounds the opening 7therein. The recess 11 is located in the marginal edge portion of saidopening and receives a stop lug 12 extending radially from the hub 8;the opposite end walls of said recess providing abutment surfaces 13 and13a which are engageable by said stop lug to normally limit rotation ofthe handle 9 to 180 relatively to the escutcheon plate. The recess 11and the stop lug 12 are normally concealed from view by an annularshoulder 14 which is formed on the handle 9 around the hub 8 as shown inFIG. 1.

In order to further limit rotation of the handle 9, we provide aseparate, arcuate stop member 15 which, as best shown in FIGS. 2 through6, has the same radius of curvature as the recess 11 and is adapted tofit therein with one end disposed against either of the abutmentsurfaces 13 or 13a at the ends of the recess 11 and its opposite endpositioned for engagement by the stop lug 12 on the handle 9. It will beseen from FIG. 1, that the stop member is retained in the recess 11 bythe annular shoulder 14 on the handle 9.

When the stop member 15 is installed in the recess 11 in the positionshown in FIG. 2, the handle 9 can be rotated in a counterclockwisedirection from a normally vertical position, such as shown in FIG. 1, or90 in a clockwise direction from a normally horizontal position; thedegree of rotation in either direction being limited by engagement ofthe stop lug 12 with the abutment surface 13 and the free end of thestop member 15.

When the stop member 15 is installed in the recess 11. in the positionillustrated in FIG. 3, the handle 9 is conditioned for 90 rotation in acounterclockwise direction from a normally horizontal position, asshown, or for 90 rotation in a clockwise direction from a normallyupwardly extending vertical position. In either case, the stop lug willmove between the free end of the stop member 15 and the abutment surface13a defining the lower end or" the recess 11.

The handle 9 may be conditioned to rotate in opposite directions fromthose allowed by the arrangements shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 by inverting theescutcheon plate 5 to position the recess 11 on the opposite side of thehandle 9 as shown in FIG. 4. When in this position, the stop member maybe inserted into the lower quadrant of the recess to provide forrotation of the handle for 90 in a clockwise direction from a normallyvertical position or for 90 in a counterclockwise direction from anormally horizontal position. The stop member may also be inserted intothe upper quadrant of the recess 11 or may be omitted entirely when itis desired to provide for rotation of the handle.

We claim:

1. In an operating handle assembly for a latch or look mechanism; anescutcheon plate having a face portion,

an opening extending therethrough from saidaface portion and a recess insaid face portion concentric with said opening, said recess having anend Wall providing an abutment surface, a handle adjacent said faceportion including a hub portion rotatable in said opening, a stop lugextending from said handle into said recess for angular movement thereinupon rotation of said handle, and a stop member seated in said recesswith one end engaging said abutment surface and its opposite enddisposed for engagement by said stop lug to limit rotation of saidhandle.

2. In an operating handle assembly for a latch-or lock mechanism; anescutcheon plate having an opening therein and a recess in the marginaledge portion of said opening extending partly therearound andterminating in an end wall providing an abutment surface, a handlehaving a hub portion rotatable in said opening, a stop lug extendingfrom said hub portion into said recess for angular movement therein uponrotation of said handle, and a stop member seated in said recess withone end engaging said abutment surface whereby said stop memher isimmovably positioned in said recess, the opposite end of said stopmember being disposed for engagement by said stop lug to limit rotationof said handle.

'5 In an operating handle assembly for a latch or lock mechanism; anescutcheon plate having an opening there in and a recess in the marginaledge portion of said opening extending partly therearound and having endwalls at its opposite ends providing angularly spaced abutment surfaces,a handle having a hub portion rotatable in said opening, a stop lugextending from said hub portion into said recess for angular movementtherein upon rotation of said handle, and a stop member adapted forinsertion into said recess in either one of two inverted positions forcontrolling the direction and degree of rotation of said handle, saidstop member, in either of its said positions, being immovably positionedin said recess through engagement of one of its ends with one of saidabutment surfaces and having its opposite end spaced from the otherabutment surface and disposed for engagement by said stop lug.

4. In an operating handle assembly for a latch or look mechanism; anescutcheon plate having a front face, an opening extending therethroughfrom said front face and a recess in said front face concentric withsaid opening, said recess having an end wall providing an abutmentsurface, a handle disposed in front of said escutcheon plate and havinga hub portion rotatable in said opening, a stop lug extending from saidhub portion into said recess for angular movement therein upon rotationof said handle and being engageable with said abutment surface wherebyto limit rotation of said handle, and

an annular shoulder on said hub portion opposed to said front face ofthe escutcheon plate, said shoulder overlying said recess and saidabutment surface and concealing them from View.

5. In an operating handle assembly for a latch or lock mechanism; anescutcheon plate having a front face, an opening extending therethroughfrom said front face and a recess in said front face concentric withsaid opening, a handle disposed in front of said escutcheon plate havinga hub portion rotatable in said opening, a stop lug extending from saidhub portion into said recess for angular movement therein upon rotationof said handle, a stop member disposed in said recess for engagement bysaid stop lug to limit the rotation of said handle, and an annularshoulder on said hub portion opposed to said front face of theescutcheon plate and overlying said recess to retain said stop membertherein.

6. In an operating handle assembly for a latch or look mechanism; anescutcheon plate having a front face containing an opening therein andan arcuate recess in the marginal edge portion of said openingconcentric therewith, said recess having a substantially radiallydisposed end wall providing an abutment surface, a handle disposed infront of said escutcheon plate having a hub portion rotatable in saidopening, a stop lug extending radially from said hub portion into saidrecess for angular movement therein upon rotation of said handle, anarcuate stop member conforming to the shape of said recess seatedtherein with one end engaging said abutment surface whereby movement ofsaid stop member in said recess is prevented, the opposite end of saidstop member being disposed for engagement by said stop lug to limitrotation of said handle, and an annular shoulder on said handlesurrounding said hub and opposed to said ront face, said shoulderoverlying said recess and retaining' said stop member therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,764,945 Flynn June 17, 1930 1,904,210 Eichel Apr. 18, 1933 2,804,765Biblin Sept. 3, 1957 2,919,570 Crew Jan. 5, 1960

